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Bumgarner Takes Loss in '10 Debut

Madison Bumgarner couldn't have asked for a tougher assignment to start his 2010 big league season. The 20 year-old lefty was opposed by the Boston Red Sox's dominant lineup and their prize young righty, Clay Buchholtz (who actually left the game after the first inning).

Bumgarner didn't throw particularly bad, as his line for the day was 7 IP, 5 hits, 4 runs, 5 K's and 1 BB. His only blemishes though came on two pitches, to Darnell McDonald and Mike Cameron in the 1st and 2nd innings, that both left the yard. Other than that though, he was nails, and Bruce Bochy and Dave Righetti have to be pleased with how he rebounded after those rough first couple of innings. I think like with Buster Posey, Bumgarner is going to be given every opportunity to let this be his last call-up, and I think he's going to respond. The way he threw against Boston will definitely give him confidence. I'm kind of surprised the Giants couldn't get to the Red Sox's bullpen in order to give Bumgarner some support. The Giants offense only mustered up 6 hits and 2 runs, both driven in by Buster Posey, and they got to face the Red Sox bullpen for 8 innings rather than their stud young righty, Clay Buchholz. MadBum's next projected start, assuming that he's not sent down for some reason, would be against the Colorado Rockies in Denver, so it's not going to get much easier for him, but it's going to be a good solid test for him right off the bat. So far so good.

On Friday night, the Giants' bats showed up. Although they only scored 5 runs, they banged out 12 hits, including Juan Uribe's 12th homer of the year. Buster Posey had a 3-hit ballgame to get his average back up to .321, and Uribe and Sandoval each had a couple of hits apiece. The Giant who really needed to get some hits this series, Aaron Rowand, has gone 0-7 through 2 games so far. I understand that the Giants don't want to site a guy making 13 million dollars this year, but if he were making 3 million instead, he'd probably be a rare-start, defensive replacement, if he'd even manage to stick on the roster at all. I've met Rowand at Giants' events in the past and I like the way he plays the game and will always root for him, but Pat Burrell, Andres Torres and Aubrey Huff need to be in the outfield when Buster Posey's at first base. With Pablo Sandoval's sophomore slump dragging towards mid-season, the Giants can't really afford to sit their best hitters. When Sandoval was hitting .330, it would be easier to play Rowand a little more often. Here is how I'd like to see the lineup constructed more nights than not; 1. CF Andres Torres 2. 2B Freddy Sanchez 3. 1B Buster Posey 4. SS Juan Uribe 5. RF Aubrey Huff 6. LF Pat Burrell 7. 3B Pablo Sandoval 8. C Bengie Molina.

Giants Blogs Interview with NESN: For the rest of the interview done with NESN that I previewed in our last post, you can view it here, and if you do, I urge you guys to drop some Giants comments cause there was a bit of Giants/Lincecum bashing going on from the Red Sox fans. It was all in good fun though, but it definitely is making me root for the Giants and Timmy with a little extra incentive in Sunday's finale.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I think it is safe to say, tonight Rowland solidified his place on the bench for the Giants. We continue to give this guy, and more importantly, his 14 million dollar contract, a chance but let's be honest. He simply isn't the player we thought he would be. At this point, the Giants would be better off relegating him to Fresno than continuing allowing him to go 0-4. Its time to admit our fault and move on...
12:47 AM
Big Ray said…
I was hoping the Giants would get them on Sunday with Timmy on the mound, but Boston is pretty damn good. Maybe the Giants will get their chance for redemtion in the fall classic... Wishful thinking but hey, it could happen.
8:32 PM
Schruender said…
Very encouraging start from Bumgarner. Bochy said beforehand that he hopes the kid is up to stay, and it's safe to stay he's up for at least one more start! It's almost more impressive to watch a young guy struggle and battle back than just dominate...Strasburg gave up a 2 run homer in the 3rd inning of his first start.

Is something wrong with Lincecum injury wise?
11:33 AM
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